Page 32

I stir as morning light spills through the blinds, casting a soft golden glow across the room. I crack an eye open, glancing down to find Briar beside me, her hair a tangled mess on the pillow. One arm is draped across my chest, the other tucked beneath her chin.

The quiet stillness makes me want to remember every detail, from the way the sunlight dances along the curve of her cheek to the smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose.

I brush a loose strand of hair from her face, taking in how relaxed she looks.

I’m not sure what I did to earn the right to wake up next to her, but I’m holding on to every second of it.

“No one else is ever going to compare to you,” I whisper with a kiss on her forehead.

I’ve never known peace like this. I used to think relationships were a cycle of pain where couples tore one another down and enabled the worst in each other.

I figured Julie and Samuel were the rare exception and that I’d never experience that kind of love.

So I never made the effort to let anyone in.

I stuck to one-night stands and casual hookups, setting strict boundaries. There were no sleepovers at my place, no labels, and no promises. It allowed me to stay focused on growing my empire, and until recently, I never felt like I was missing out.

But with Briar, it’s different. With her, it’s easy to let my guard down, knowing she accepts me without judgment and inspires me to become the best version of myself. After just one night together, I fear I’m already hooked, secretly wishing this was more than the summer fling we’ve agreed to.

She shifts slightly in her sleep, her lips parting on a sigh. She must be exhausted from last night, where nothing existed beyond this room. No responsibilities. No complications. Just Briar and me.

She came alive beneath my hands, every stroke dragging a new sound from her lips until she was crying out my name.

That raw, raspy voice continues to echo in my head.

We didn’t stop until she collapsed against me, spent and trembling.

I drifted off with my fingers running through her hair, listening to the steady rhythm of her breath.

After watching Briar for a few more minutes, her lashes finally flutter open, and she blinks up at me with a slow, satisfied smile.

“Morning,” she murmurs.

I brush a kiss across her lips. “Good morning, sugar. How did you sleep?”

She stretches, the sheet slipping down her bare breasts. “Hard to say. Someone kept me up most of the night.”

I smirk. “You weren’t complaining when you were screaming my name at two in the morning.”

“That’s because I was too busy seeing stars to form a coherent sentence.”

“In that case, I’ll have to make sure next time—”

We both freeze when we hear a sharp banging come from downstairs .

“Someone’s at the door,” she whispers.

I check my phone and see a string of missed texts from Heath and Walker saying they’re on their way to pick me up to bale hay. The last one was sent twenty minutes ago.

Shit.

Judging by the noise, I’m guessing they’ve been waiting outside a while and have run out of patience.

“I think your brothers are here,” I tell Briar.

She jolts up in bed. “What? Now?”

“Yeah.”

I jump out of bed and pull on the Wranglers I wore last night, not bothering to look for my shirt.

Briar’s right behind me, throwing on a pair of sleep shorts and a flannel from a stool in the corner.

She grabs a hair tie from the dresser, twisting her hair into a messy bun on the way out of the bedroom.

We’re halfway down the stairs when the front door swings open.

Heath and Walker stroll inside, catching us stumbling into view, half-dressed and breathless.

Walker lets out a low whistle. “Looks like we missed one hell of a sleepover.”

Heath smirks. “But we got here just in time for the morning-after special.”

Briar’s cheeks flush. “Did you guys ever think about waiting for someone to open the door before coming in?”

Walker shrugs. “It’s not our fault it was unlocked. It’s a good thing Ma is bringing Caleb over in a few minutes or you might’ve had to explain why his daddy and his nanny were conducting a hands-on team-building exercise.”

As Briar and I reach the entryway, I shoot him a glare. “Not funny.”

He chuckles. “I beg to differ. It’s some of my finest work, if I do say so myself.”

Whatever this is between Briar and me is fragile enough without Caleb finding out and getting confused. He’s already been through so much change, and the last thing I want is to add anything else that might cause him more stress. Not when he’s made so much progress over the past month and a half.

Does that mean I’m done with Briar? Not by a long shot. But we’ll have to be more careful, especially in the mornings, to avoid another awkward situation like this. There’s no chance her brothers will ever let me live this down.

“Have you guys had breakfast?” Briar asks Heath and Walker, changing the subject.

“Nope. Ma was busy with the chicks, so we were hoping you were making those famous pancakes of yours like you usually do on Saturdays,” Walker says with a grin.

Briar rolls her eyes. “Typical. You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, or you’d be the one making pancakes.”

“Yeah, well, we all know why you’re so chipper this morning,” Heath interjects with amusement. “By the way, love your outfit, sis.”

Briar glances down at her mismatched clothes, her fingers tugging at the hem of her shirt as if that’ll make her brothers disappear.

“Jensen’s not exactly setting fashion trends either,” Walker adds. “Pretty sure he’s trying to flaunt his abs.”

“Says the guy who looks like a lumberjack that got dressed in the dark,” I say, nodding toward his half-tucked flannel.

He must have hit the snooze button three times before Heath dragged him out the door. Morning people are ruthless.

“As entertaining as this banter is, I’m going to make breakfast.” Briar leans close, whispering, “I worked up quite the appetite last night.” She shoots me a playful wink before slipping into the kitchen.

I plan to follow, but Heath stops me with a firm hand on my shoulder .

“What happened to not being interested in meeting a nice country gal this summer?” he asks with a raised brow.

I scratch the back of my neck, carefully considering my response.

The last thing I want is to upset him and start a fight in Briar’s entryway.

It would be a surefire way to ruin the end of an incredible night, and I’m not willing to risk it being our only one.

Briar’s quickly become an important part of my life, and I don’t want to go back to the way things were.

“It wasn’t planned,” I say defensively.

Heath tilts his head, rubbing his chin. “What happened? She trip and fall into your arms? Besides, don’t you think you’re a little old for her? After all, you wear reading glasses, and isn’t that a gray hair in your stubble?” His expression shifts to smug satisfaction.

Walker laughs. “That’s what I told him!”

I shoot him a mock glare, running a hand along my jaw. “Oh please. You’ve both dated women younger than Briar, and I haven’t given either of you grief about it.”

“It’s different when it’s our sister we’re talking about,” Heath points out.

“Convenient,” I mutter to myself. “We’ve decided not to see other people the rest of the summer. If you’ve got a problem with us being together, you’ll have to take it up with her because I’m not changing my mind.”

I keep my hands at my side, bracing for Heath’s anger, but he surprises me when he shrugs.

“Alright, I can live with that.”

I furrow my brow. “That’s it?”

“The guys at the coffee shop filled me in on the details of what went down the night of her date. You protected her from that jackass lawyer, and I appreciate it. Although if I’d been there, he would’ve left with a black eye.”

“I didn’t do it for you. ”

“Exactly.” He moves forward, clapping me on the back. “You’ve got Briar’s best interests at heart, which means you care.”

“So, you’re not mad?”

He wrinkles his nose. “It isn’t my business what goes on behind closed doors. Briar’s got a good head on her shoulders, and if she’s set on you, I’ll respect it. But if you so much as make her cry, you’ll be answering to us both,” he says, jerking his chin toward Walker.

“Damn straight,” Walker adds with his arms folded across his chest.

“I’d never hurt her…” I trail off as Briar lets out a string of muffled curses from the kitchen. “I better go see if she needs help wranglin’ the stove. It’s been on the fritz lately.”

As I turn toward the kitchen, I catch Walker leaning over to Heath and whispering, “There’s no way he leaves after the summer.”

I’ve thought about how difficult going back to New York will be, but until now, I haven’t entertained the thought of making Bluebell our permanent home.

The city is where the business I built from the ground up is, and I’m not sure I could give that up.

Not when it provides the security and stability I lacked growing up.

Not to mention, Caleb starts kindergarten in the fall. I managed to get him into a highly sought-after private school with a top-tier early education program. The director of the board is a client of mine, and he owed me a favor for helping him with an emergency project a few months ago.

A nagging thought has me wondering if moving back to the city is the best thing for Caleb, but I dismiss it for now.

As soon as I’m out of view, I hear Heath’s voice carry behind me.

“I’m not so sure. He abandoned his roots once. There’s a good chance he’ll do it again,” he tells Walker .

That may be true, but I was trying to outrun the legacy my parents created back then. Now that I have a support system who genuinely cares about Caleb and me, the thought of saying goodbye is much harder.

Walker and Heath make themselves comfortable at the kitchen table with their coffee while eagerly waiting for breakfast. Briar shooed them out of the cooking area when they offered to help, insisting they were useless with food prep.

However, once I put a shirt on, she had me washing and cutting fruit.

Not that I mind—it’s the least I can do since she’s making the pancakes.

The stove’s pilot light isn’t working, and Briar hasn’t had time to fix it, so she resorted to using an electric griddle to make pancakes.

On the bright side, she won’t have to deal with her appliances constantly breaking much longer.

Not after she gets the surprise I’ve been planning.

I’ve done extensive research to make sure it’s tailored to her tastes, and I can’t wait to see her reaction.

She’s just finished the first batch of hotcakes when Julie arrives with Caleb.

I’m at the counter slicing strawberries when they come in, and I wipe my hands on a dish towel to say hello. When I turn around, I expect Caleb to rush to Briar, but instead, he runs straight to me. My heart swells as I bend down and scoop him into my arms.

“Hey, bud, I missed you,” I say, pushing his hair back. “How was your night at the ranch house? Did any of the chicks hatch?”

He bobs his head, a smile stretching across his face.

“Caleb helped Samuel and me get the brooder boxes set up in one of the backyard sheds.” Julie brushes past us, picking up where I left off, and finishes cutting the strawberries.

“We’re still waiting on a few to hatch, but most of the chicks should be dry and ready to move out of the incubator by tomorrow. ”

“Sounds like he had a good time. Thanks again for taking him,” I say.

“Anytime. Hope you and Briar enjoyed yourselves,” Julie replies, her eyes gleaming.

Walker snorts. “Did they ever.”

I narrow my eyes, but he’s unfazed, shooting me a cheeky grin before taking a drink of coffee.

Briar interrupts our silent standoff when she steps between us and sets a stack of pancakes on the table. “Dig in before they get cold.”

Her brothers don’t need to be told twice. They each pile three onto their plates and drown them in syrup.

Julie brings over a bowl of strawberries and bananas, setting it between Heath and Walker. “Add something healthy.”

Without protest, they each add a generous helping onto their pancakes. Grown men or not, they know better than to disobey their mom.

I set Caleb down and he heads straight to the table, climbing onto a chair. His eyes light up at the sight of the food, and he licks his lips. Briar’s breakfast has set a new standard, and I doubt he’ll settle for cereal again.

“Want a pancake, bud?” I ask.

He nods.

“Here, I made this one special for you,” Briar says, crossing the room to place a dino-shaped pancake with chocolate chips in front of Caleb.

It means a lot that she remembers his favorite and went out of her way to make sure there was one ready when he arrived.

“You bringing the little dude to help us bale hay?” Walker asks, talking around a mouthful of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Julie chides .

“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbles sheepishly.

I considered bringing Caleb along, but I don’t think it’s the best idea.

It will be hot out today, and I don’t want him getting overheated or too tired, especially since I won’t be able to keep a constant eye on him.

However, Briar has him every weekday afternoon, and I didn’t want to ask her to give up her Saturday.

Julie had him last night, so it wouldn’t be fair to ask her again.

“Caleb can spend the day with me,” Briar says before I can reply.

I glance over to where she’s flipping another batch of pancakes. “Really? I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

She waves me off with a grin. “Of course. I’d love nothing more,” she assures me. “I’ve been wanting to introduce him to the horses. Cooper, our horse wrangler, is here today, so there should be at least one in the corral for Caleb to meet.”

“If Briar has other things to do later, Caleb’s more than welcome to come with me to take care of the chicks once I’m back from town,” Julie adds. “It’s no trouble at all.”

My heart swells with gratitude, amazed by the level of generosity we’re surrounded by, and I’m certain now more than ever that coming to Bluebell was the right decision.